by Calista Skye
Lana’s heart thrummed in her chest as she watched the precision and control of his movements. The closeness of his body sent her blood rushing through her.
“When you dodge, you can use your attacker’s momentum against him. This time, when I charge you, I want you to reach out and pull me forward into the wall.”
“That’s crazy.”
“But it will buy you time. Enough to escape, if you’re lucky.”
Adaar crouched low, pausing long enough to make eye contact with her before leaping at her again.
Lana caught the glint in his eyes that telegraphed the attack. She shuffled her body sideways, reaching out to grab his wrist.
And she missed, careening wildly to the side.
Adaar snatched her outstretched hand and spun her around, pulling her back into his body as he wrapped his arms around her.
Lana felt the strength of his biceps, the firm muscles of his chest as he held her immobile against him. Her heart pulsed erratically. She felt the warmth of his flesh as their bodies connected.
She welcomed the contact. And that frightened her.
“You let me in,” he said as he released her.
“You were too fast, and I lost my balance.”
“What are you going to do when I get my arms around you?”
Lana panicked. She stared at his body, the rise and fall of his chest. “I don’t know,” she said. “Submit?”
“Wrong.” Lana felt his eyes on her, tracing the curves of her body. “Your attackers might be bigger than you. They will be stronger. But you never have to submit to anyone. Let me teach you how to break free.” He smiled at her warmly. “Come and wrap your arms around me.”
Her skin still tingled, the lingering sensation of his touch coursed through her. She approached him nervously and gently put her hands on his waist.
“My gods, I’m trapped,” he said, lifting her hands off his hips. “Come on. Don’t be afraid. Try to hold me.”
She hesitated. She wanted to touch him, and the thought terrified her. She reached around his body, feeling the lines of his core as she tightened her arms into a squeeze.
“That’s better,” he said. “If anyone ever gets the jump on you, here’s what you’re going to do: First, drop your weight low and smash my foot with your heel. Second, swing your arm up and around in a circle like this. Follow it with a knee to the face.”
He performed the action in slow motion, pushing her arms out of the way, manipulating her body easily despite the strength of her hold.
“Got it?”
Lana nodded. “Simple enough.” Lana rehearsed the short sequence in her mind.
“Good,” he said.
His arms were on her again. The scent of his body filled her as he held her fast. Lana’s heart raced in her chest. She felt the full force of his strength as he held her in place.
“You can do this, Lana. No hesitation.”
“You’re holding me too tight,” she said.
“And you think an attacker is going to go easy? I want you to know in your body what it’s going to take. Learn it now, while you’re with me. Safe.”
Lana went for it. She dropped her body weight, stomping her foot into the ground where his heel and been only a moment before. She swung her arm up. Hard. And his grip fell away as she spun out of the hold. She grabbed the back of his head threw her knee at him.
Adaar rolled out of the way before the blow landed, but Lana’s momentum carried her through as the pair tumbled to the ground.
Lana anticipated the fall. Years of rolling around on the magnecycle had taught her how to manipulate her body weight. She landed on top of him, straddling his body, her arm braced across his chest.
“Good,” he said as he laughed. “I told you your instincts were good.”
“I’ve got you now, pirate,” she said.
He pivoted off the floor and rolled on top of her. “Like hell,” he said.
His glistening body loomed over her, his blue eyes glowing in the soft light. The room faded as Lana focused on his face. She breathed heavily, feeling his weight on top of her, his thighs gripping her body.
She closed her eyes as he leaned in close, anticipating the contact between them, craving the feeling of his mouth on her body. The flood of emotions overpowered her more thoroughly than his arms ever could. And in that moment, she could let him in. Logic shut down as the rush of desire surged through her. She welcomed it, a long forgotten friend she didn’t realize she’d missed.
His mouth hovered inches from her skin. She felt the warmth of his breath as he pressed against her.
And she waited.
Her lips parted in anticipation as she opened her body to him, longing to feel his mouth exploring her skin.
Adaar froze. His body went rigid and his eyes grew cool.
“Lesson’s over,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Get some rest. You’re going to need it for the raid.”
He left the training room without looking back.
Chapter 7
A jet of warm water cascaded over her body. Lana stood with her eyes closed, letting the warmth release the tension and soothe her aching muscles.
She welcomed the moment of privacy. She savored it as long as she could.
Lana couldn’t wrap her head around what happened with Adaar in the training room. She didn’t understand her feelings. Or why he bolted out of there.
It didn’t matter. It was just physical, a natural reaction to being close to someone so…
Her hands worked their way over her body as she lathered the soap into her skin. Her body quaked and trembled as though her cells remembered his hands on her. She leaned back against the wall of the shower, letting the water course down her as she imagined his mouth on her neck.
It was a harmless fantasy. Falling for him would be stupid. Adaar was nothing more than a controlling, arrogant pirate. A Kamaran with an agenda.
So what if he saved her from the Ratolian? It wasn’t anything noble. The slaver probably had a bounty on his head. Nothing else made sense. What other motive could Adaar have?
Even if he wanted more, she could never trust him. There could never be anything between them, and it had already gone too far. She’d have to be more careful. If he ever got that close to her again…if he put his strong hands on her body and pulled her in close, with that hungry look in his eyes…
She threw her head back as the water streamed over her face, letting the fantasy play out in her mind as her fingers worked their way around her body, tracing lightly over her skin.
***
By the time Lana found her way back into the guest quarters, Kira had returned. She laid back on her bunk, twisting and turning an intricately carved wooden puzzle box with a look of exasperation on her face. “I’m never going to figure this out,” she said, slamming the box down on the bedside table. “It probably doesn’t even open. Ja’al was just trying to mess with my head.”
“What is it?” asked Lana, glancing at the carvings on the box.
“He said it’s a Yordaskian puzzle box. A place to keep your most precious possessions. It’s pretty small, though, don’t you think? Not much valuable you could put in here.”
“I don’t know. There could be all kinds of valuable things inside there. A security clearance code. A chemical formula. A bank account number.”
“I guess,” said Kira. “But if that was the case they would have just smashed it open.”
“Okay,” said Lana, turning her attention back to the puzzle box. “What if there’s a little acid-filled vial inside that would break if it’s opened too forcefully?”
“Seriously, Riley? Where do you get this shit?” She looked up at her friend and sat upright. “And more importantly, what’s with the smile?”
“What? I’m not smiling.”
“Liar. I may not be able to solve this damned box, but you’re easy.”
Lana’s skin flushed red as she looked away.
“I knew it!” said Kira. “It�
��s the captain, isn’t it?”
“Maybe if you turn the box upside down and…”
“Don’t deflect,” said Kira. “You like him.”
“What, are we twelve?”
“Riley…”
Lana cleared her throat. She knew Kira wouldn’t let it rest until she fessed up. But that didn’t mean she needed the whole story. She’d never hear the end of it.
“Sure. He’s handsome.”
“Oh, handsome, I see…” she said. “He’s sexy as hell is what he is. And you finally decided you want yourself a hot piece of…”
“No!” said Lana, a little too quickly. “I don’t. Absolutely not. Even if he is…sexy…that’s all he is. And I sure as hell don’t need to be messing around with a pirate captain.”
“I think you should go for it,” she said. “I would.”
Lana shot her a death glare.
“See! Getting possessive already. Wow, this is serious, Riley. Will you name one of your kids after me?”
“Sorry, I don’t think ‘INeedToMindMyOwnDamnBusiness’ has a very good ring to it.”
“Fine. But when you’re ready to admit it to yourself, I’ll be here.”
Lana grabbed the puzzle box from the table and turned it around in her hands. “I wonder what’s in this damned thing.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Ja’al just wanted to give me something to keep me occupied. He loves his puzzles. He’s a smart guy, Ja’al. And he’s seen a lot. You know, Riley…I kind of like these guys.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “This again?”
“Yes, ‘this again’. I’m not convinced they’re horrible people. I think they’re just trying to get by. Just like us.”
“We don’t go around raiding ships and stealing things that don’t belong to us.”
“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that’s exactly what we’re about to do.”
“It’s not the same. This is a one-time thing. And it’s for a good reason. As soon as we have what we need, we’re out of here. It’s temporary. We’re good people. We’re nothing like them.”
Kira shrugged and snatched the puzzle box back from Lana, shaking it in her hands.
“Kind of makes me wonder what we were carrying that they were so damn interested in. I figured it was just some expensive junk for the Anarans…but your boyfriend sure seemed desperate to get his hands on it.”
Lana’s protest was cut short by the sound of the ship’s intercom crackling to life: “Time to intercept is one hour and counting. All personnel to the bridge for final preparations. Repeat, it’s one hour until show time. All personnel to the bridge.”
Kira set the box down. The mystery would have to wait.
“You ready for this, Riley?”
“Let’s get it over with.”
***
A glowing image of the medical ship hovered above the central terminal in the War Room. A circular room surround by two tiered rows of chairs, the War Room was the ship’s strategic center. A place for the crew to solidify their attack plans before beginning a raid.
Standing on the floor in front of the luminous holographic projection, Adaar gestured with his fingers, rotating the view of the ship to scout for any external weaknesses to exploit. He painted their communications system with a quick touch of his finger before locating the shield generator and then continued rotating the image.
Lana had seen Imperial MC class medical ships before, docked in the launch bay of the depot in Tarksis. This one appeared the same, except for the addition of two large plasma cannons on either side of the bow. Adaar marked them with a gesture and nodded.
“This ship is more heavily armed than we anticipated. Still, it looks like our approach plan will be the same. After we engage the disruptor to take down their shields, engines, and comms, we’ll fire another blast at each of the cannons. That should keep them out of commission long enough for us to get the haul back to the ship.”
“Why not just torpedo them, sir?” said Jelai, the Malotrovian woman. “We could get two quick shots off before they realized we were there. We’d be able to search and still make a clean getaway.”
Adaar nodded, acknowledging her. “Under normal circumstances, you’d be right. However…” He zoomed in. The sensors revealed details of the ship’s interior. “We’re showing a larger crew than would normally be expected on an MC class. We don’t have enough information about their cargo to know why. Could be escorting a high value Imperial. Could be patients in their sick bay. Our sensors don’t have the detail to discern that. Whatever the reason, I’d prefer to do this without casualties.”
Lana saw Ja’al nod in approval. She breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she expected Adaar to go at this recklessly; he was too protective of his crew. He was responsible for their lives, and Lana was relieved to see that he took it seriously.
“And that means we don’t fire on them unless we have to. The element of surprise is critical. We’ll need to stay cloaked for as long as we can and discharging our weapons systems would reveal too much.”
“What’s the plan of engagement?” asked Tyrus.
Adaar zoomed in on the cargo bay, bringing up an image of the lower level stern. “This is the destination. Once the fighters are disabled and their sensors are down, we’ll dock up with the ship and enter here.” He focused the image on the loading bay, pointing to the large dual airlock doors. “No personnel readings in the cargo area, so we should have a clean entry. We’ll load the supplies back onto the Vendetta and get the hell out of there. If we do this fast enough, we can stay cloaked the entire time.”
“In and out. They’ll never know what hit them,” said Rymar, the Yordaskian.
“Let’s hope,” said Adaar. “But I want you on point, Rymar, just in case things go south. You and Jelai can make your way through the hallway back into the medical bay to grab any supplies you can. Vaccines. Surgical tools. Whatever you can find.”
Lana said a silent prayer that somewhere in there, she would find the serum for Tanner. “I’d like to go,” she said. “Back to the med bay. Let me go with him.”
“Look at the new girl,” said Ja’al.
Adaar’s mouth drew into a frown. “We don’t know what you’ll find in there. And you’re not ready to deal with any threats. I can’t have you put my crew at risk. I need you to stay back and help us load out the cargo bay.”
But this opportunity was too good to pass up. The only reason she agreed to go along with this crackpot plan was to get the serum. The crew wouldn’t know it was a priority. Hell, even if they found a dose, there was no guarantee they’d let her keep it. She had to be the one to locate it. “Please,” said Lana. “I can help.”
Kira grabbed her wrist. “Don’t piss him off,” she whispered.
But Adaar was already on the move. His boots echoed off the metal-grated stairs as he approached, an unreadable expression gracing his square chin. He stopped inches from her face. “You volunteered for this crew, Lana Riley, and against my better judgment I allowed it. But I will not have you screwing up my raid. You will follow my orders.”
Lana stood her ground, but she didn’t dare look up into his eyes. She wanted to reach out and touch his body, to feel him pressed against her again.
“Are we clear?”
“Yes sir,” she said, unable to control her shaking voice. “I understand.”
She could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile on his lips before he turned back to face the rest of the crew.
“Trax will remain behind on the Vendetta. The rest of you, suit up.”
Chapter 8
Lana worked her hips into the black jumpsuit. It fit snugly around her curves, and if she was in any state of mind to notice such a thing, she would have thought she looked pretty damn good.
She laced up her boots and glanced at Kira, who was fiddling with the settings on her kingen, the kinetic shield generator. “These things are insane,” she said as she tucked the small black box inside the pocket of her
jumpsuit. “Seriously, this is beyond military grade. I don’t know how they got their hands on them.”
“How would you even know that?”
“Oh, you know…” She smiled conspiratorially. “Soldiers talk.”
Lana shook her head. “Yeah. Whatever. I’m just glad they have them. I know they said this would be easy, but…”
“But you’ve never held a gun before. You have no idea what you’re doing. And you’re about to go on a hostile raid of a med ship.” Kira put her hand on Lana’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. They know what they’re doing. We can stay out of the way.”
“Yeah,” said Lana. “I guess. I just wish…”
The buzz of the ship’s siren interrupted her thought. The lights dimmed to red as power was diverted from the primary systems into the shield disruptors.
Silence fell over the ship as the alert ceased. Outside the viewport, a flash of brilliant white light erupted from the Vendetta, enveloping the medical transport. Lana recognized it.
Twenty-four hours ago, her life was safe and normal. And now?
She had to focus.
The ship juddered, throwing her off balance as the docking arms connected with their target. The Raiders stood ready at the cargo bay doors.
“Let’s do this, Riley.”
Lana inhaled and nodded. “Let’s get it over with.”
Ja’al hoisted a large pulse rifle to his muscular shoulder, his golden skin glowing in the darkness. He crammed a cartridge into the stock and shot a smile over to Kira as the pair approached.
Adaar nodded to his crew, looking them each in the eyes and whispering a short blessing in the Kamaran tongue. When he came to Lana, he stopped. He touched her shoulder gently and bowed his head in close. “Be not afraid of the unknown. The god of fate smiles upon you.”
In spite the electricity shooting through her nerves, his steady hand calmed her. She believed in him to get them safely though this. She met his glowing blue eyes and nodded, silent and reassured.
The hiss of hydraulic pistons filled the air as the door slid open, giving them direct passage into the medical ship’s cargo bay.
